UAW expands Chicago footprint after workers at Flex-N-Gate vote to form union

Workers at the auto parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate’s Chicago factory voted to form a union with the United Auto Workers, in elections held Thursday and Friday.

Workers voted 195-126 in favor of joining the UAW. The facility at 2924 E. 126th St. in South Deering is a major parts supplier for Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, located nearby on Torrence Avenue.

“The net worth of Flex-N-Gate owner Shahid Khan is $13.3 billion, but Flex-N-Gate workers in Chicago make as little as $17.50 an hour, far below the starting wage of $25.12 for UAW production workers at Ford,” Flex-N-Gate's organizing committee said in a news release. Khan also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The organizing committee said Flex-N-Gate launched an “aggressive anti-union campaign ... that included threats, intimidation and even firings of union supporters.”

Brandon Campbell, UAW Region 4 director, said in a statement, “Management at Flex-N-Gate tried again and again to shut down the workers’ fight for a union, but they stood up together and won their union voice.”

A spokesperson for Flex-N-Gate could not be reached for comment.

If neither workers or management objects to the results over the next seven days, the National Labor Relations Board will certify the union as the workers' bargaining representative, said the UAW.

“We are proud to welcome them to the UAW family and we are going to work night and day with them to win the strong first contract they deserve," Campbell said.

The UAW represents workers at eight other Flex-N-Gate and Ventra, a subsidiary of Flex-N-Gate, plants. The UAW members at the Ventra plant in Sandusky, Ohio, won a new contract this summer, according to the union.

Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Urbana, Flex-N-Gate is a major automotive supplier with annual revenue of $6.8 billion, according to its website. Worldwide, the company has more than 25,000 employees and 66 facilities.

Its Chicago facility opened in 2017 and promised to invest nearly $30 million in the local economy.